Directed by Lesley Manning and written by Stephen Volk, Ghostwatch, is a documentary style on-air of a house in Northolt, Greater London that’s experiencing bizarre poltergeist activity. The recording of Ghostwatch was presented as live television causing a panic for viewers similar to “The War of the Worlds” in the United States.
About GHOSTWATCH’s release on Shudder:
- Has never aired in the United States, nor is it been made available on home video in the U.S.
- Aired once on BBC1, on Halloween night in 1992. Presented as live television and not a horror mockumentary, it resulted in an estimated 30,000 calls to the BBC switchboard in a single hour. It has never re-aired on UK television, and was banned in the UK until released on DVD by the British Film Institute in 2002.
- Features actual BBC personalities playing themselves, adding to the confusion for an unsuspecting audience.
- A clear precursor to The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity, and the found-footage genre
- Has a cult following: An annual event, known as National Séance, occurs every year on Halloween night at 9:25 PM (the original broadcast time of Ghostwatch), where fans are encouraged to hit play on their own personal copies of Ghostwatch and live tweet the special.
